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Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena (1807 - 1879)
"Page with Hounds"
12 x 15 inches
oil on panel
signed lower right
"Page with Hounds"
12 x 15 inches
oil on panel
signed lower right
NARCISSE VIRGILE DIAZ DE LA PEÑA was born to Spanish emigrant parents on August 20, 1808, in Bordeaux.
He survived the loss of a leg in a childhood accident and further suffered the death of his parents at age fifteen.
Diaz’s artistic training was as a porcelain painter. He learned the fine skill of porcelain painting in the Dupre’s
factory and it was Jules Dupre who eventually introduced him to Barbizon. He studied briefly with the painter
Souchon. His early paintings catered to the popular taste for 18th century style Rococo and resulted in financial
success for the young artist. Fetes galantes were favorite subjects and the women depicted in Diaz’s canvases
were often cloaked in exotic Turkish garb, reflecting the artist’s admiration for Delacroix and his orientalist
followers. Indeed Diaz’s first Salon entry in 1831, was titled Scene Amour.
Diaz first visited Barbizon in 1835 and it was in 1837 that he met Rousseau. He learned to use color while
painting alongside Rousseau whose vibrant, iridescent greens were unmatched. Unlike Rousseau who rarely
placed figures in his paintings, Diaz most always placed a peasant woman on his forest paths. The influence of
Rousseau could be seen in Diaz’s Salon entry of that year depicting a view of Fontainebleau Forest. Through the
1840s his figure paintings continued to be the major part of his work and are thought to have influenced the
female subjects of Corot, Renoir and certainly Monticelli.
Although the best known of his works are the forest interiors inspired by Rousseau; there are many exceptional
paintings outside that theme such as “Young Page with Hounds” which is inspirational in the use of pure color.
This painting would have surely been a commissioned work and the figures have an almost ‘classical’ quality in
their poise and clarity. In the background, however, we see a wonderful example of his expertise with forest
interiors. The merger of the classical figures with the lessons of Rousseau and Barbizon are what makes this
painting a truly exceptional Diaz was one of the most collected of the original Barbizon artists.
He survived the loss of a leg in a childhood accident and further suffered the death of his parents at age fifteen.
Diaz’s artistic training was as a porcelain painter. He learned the fine skill of porcelain painting in the Dupre’s
factory and it was Jules Dupre who eventually introduced him to Barbizon. He studied briefly with the painter
Souchon. His early paintings catered to the popular taste for 18th century style Rococo and resulted in financial
success for the young artist. Fetes galantes were favorite subjects and the women depicted in Diaz’s canvases
were often cloaked in exotic Turkish garb, reflecting the artist’s admiration for Delacroix and his orientalist
followers. Indeed Diaz’s first Salon entry in 1831, was titled Scene Amour.
Diaz first visited Barbizon in 1835 and it was in 1837 that he met Rousseau. He learned to use color while
painting alongside Rousseau whose vibrant, iridescent greens were unmatched. Unlike Rousseau who rarely
placed figures in his paintings, Diaz most always placed a peasant woman on his forest paths. The influence of
Rousseau could be seen in Diaz’s Salon entry of that year depicting a view of Fontainebleau Forest. Through the
1840s his figure paintings continued to be the major part of his work and are thought to have influenced the
female subjects of Corot, Renoir and certainly Monticelli.
Although the best known of his works are the forest interiors inspired by Rousseau; there are many exceptional
paintings outside that theme such as “Young Page with Hounds” which is inspirational in the use of pure color.
This painting would have surely been a commissioned work and the figures have an almost ‘classical’ quality in
their poise and clarity. In the background, however, we see a wonderful example of his expertise with forest
interiors. The merger of the classical figures with the lessons of Rousseau and Barbizon are what makes this
painting a truly exceptional Diaz was one of the most collected of the original Barbizon artists.
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